ELIMINATING HEPATITIS IN NIGERIA AS THE 2017 WORLD HEPATITIS
DAY IS MARKED ON FRIDAY JULY 28
On Friday, July 28, the world
over commemorates the 2017 edition of World Hepatitis Day. The event, which is
observed annually on July 28, was inaugurated by World Health Organization
(WHO) under the auspices of the United Nations (UN) to raise global awareness
on hepatitis or a group of infectious diseases known as Hepatitis A, B, C, D,
and E, and to encourage the prevention, diagnosis, as well as the treatment. The
theme of this year’s anniversary is ‘Eliminating Hepatitis’.
The first global World Hepatitis Day was
marked on May 19, 2008 through the effort of the World Hepatitis Alliance in
collaboration with various patient groups. The commemoration received an
international endorsement following the adoption of a resolution during the 63rd
World Health Assembly held in May 2010. The date of the event was later changed
to July 28 each year by the assembly, in honour of the birthday of Nobel
Laureate Baruch Samuel Blumberg – the man who discovered the Hepatitis B virus.
No rational man boasts of
anything if his health condition is at stake. Suffice to say; a healthy life
remains the most precious possession that ever comes to a man regardless of
his/her status or age. In the world today, there are millions of illnesses or
diseases in existence coupled with the ones that seem to have no specific cause
or cure. Among these diseases, some are often referred to be stubborn regarding
their mode of cure while some are seen to be deadly. No doubt, hepatitis is one
of those stubborn or deadly illnesses in existence.
Hepatitis is a medical condition which is
defined as an inflammation of one of the most vital organs in the human body
known as the Liver. It is usually characterized by the presence of inflammatory
cells in the tissue of the organ. The inflammatory condition can be
self-limiting or can heal on its own; but on the contrary, it can progress to
fibrosis or cirrhosis.
Hepatitis may occur with
limited or no symptoms, but often leads to jaundice, poor appetite, and a
feeling of unease. It is referred to as acute when it lasts less than six
months, and chronic when it persists longer. Globally, hepatitis viruses are
the most common causes of the condition, but hepatitis can as well be caused by
other infections, autoimmune diseases, or toxic substances such as alcohol,
certain medications, and some industrial organic solvents and plants.
Initial features of acute
hepatitis are of non-specific flu-like symptoms, which are invariably common to
almost all acute viral infections, and may include fatigue, muscle and joint
aches, fever, nausea diarrhoea, vomiting, and headache. More specific symptoms
which could be present in acute hepatitis from any cause are profound loss of
appetite, aversion to smoking among smokers, excretion of dark urine, and
abdominal discomfort.
A small proportion of people
with acute hepatitis usually progress to acute liver failure, in which the
liver would be unable to remove harmful substances from the blood thereby
leading to confusion and coma due to hepatic encephalopathy. The acute liver
failure may also result to the production of blood proteins which often leads
to peripheral edema and bleeding.
More so, a chronic hepatitis,
which is commonly identified through blood test, is usually characterized with
no symptoms at all. It often leads to the presence of jaundice which indicates
advanced liver damage. On physical examination, there may be enlargement of the
liver. In the same vein, women with autoimmune hepatitis mostly experience
abnormal menstruation, lung scarring, inflammation of the thyroid gland and
kidneys.
Aside
the aforementioned two major classes of hepatitis, it is invariably grouped and
recognized by medical experts based on its common causes. On this note, the
different types of hepatitis in existence that are widely recognized include,
Viral hepatitis, Alcoholic hepatitis, Toxic and drug-induced hepatitis,
Ischemic hepatitis, Giant cell hepatitis, just to mention but a few. Common
causes of viral hepatitis, which is the most rampant type, are the five
unrelated hepatotropic viruses known as hepatitis A, B, C, D, and E viruses.
There is an estimate that
hepatitis affects hundreds of millions of people worldwide thereby causing
acute or chronic disease and killing close to 1.4 million people every year.
Currently, approximately five hundred (500) million people worldwide are
suffering from either hepatitis B or hepatitis C. If left untreated or
unmanaged, hepatitis B or C can lead to advanced liver scarring known as
cirrhosis and other complications including liver cancer or liver failure.
While many people worry more about
contracting diseases like HIV than hepatitis, the reality is that every year,
at least 1.3 million people worldwide die as a result of either hepatitis B or
C faster than they would in the case of HIV/AIDS. Needless to say that,
hepatitis is indeed a deadly disease. Considering this fact, it is pathetic and
devastating to note that many hepatitis carriers are yet to realize that they
are living with the disease.
Hepatitis groups, patients as well as
advocates worldwide, take part in series of events on every July 28 to mark the
World Hepatitis Day. The World Hepatitis Day is one of the eight official
global public health campaigns being marked by the WHO. As Nigeria joins the
international community to commemorate the remarkable event, there’s need for
collective support as regards creation of awareness on this silent killer known
as ‘Hepatitis’.
The World Hepatitis Day provides
an opportunity to focus on actions such as, but not limited to, raising
awareness on the different forms of hepatitis, their common causes and how they
are transmitted; strengthening prevention, screening, and control of viral
hepatitis and other related diseases; increasing hepatitis B vaccine coverage
cum integration into national immunization programmes; as well as coordinating
a global response to hepatitis.
As the global community
commemorates the World Hepatitis Day, it’s therefore needless to state that all
hands are expected to be on deck towards ensuring that this killer disease that
has been a colossal societal menace for decades now is duly eliminated. Think
about it!
Comrade FDN Nwaozor
Executive
Director,Docfred Resource Clinic - Owerri
_____________________________________
Twitter: @mediambassador
http://facebook.com/TheMediaAmbassador
No comments:
Post a Comment